Integrated systems for electronic bill presentment and payment

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce, and more particularly to methods and systems for integrating electronic bill presentment and payment among billers, consumers, banks and other financial institutions, electronic payment facilitators, and web portals and other spaces able to support an interface for presentment and/or payment of bills.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/751,265, filed on Dec. 29, 2000, entitled“Integrated Systems for Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment,” theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Field of Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce,and more particularly to methods and systems for integrating electronicbill presentment and payment among billers, consumers, banks and otherfinancial institutions, electronic payment facilitators, and web portalsand other spaces able to support an interface for presentment and/orpayment of bills.

[0004] Billing consumers for goods and services has always been anecessary exercise and transaction cost of engaging in credit-basedcommerce. Traditionally, businesses bill consumers for goods andservices by generating and mailing paper bills or invoices. There aremany obvious business concerns relative to paper-based billing.Companies utilizing paper-based billing do so at a substantial cost. Forexample, a company with 100,000 accounts which are billed on a monthlybasis may spend over two million dollars a year in paper-based billingexpenses. Much of this expense stems from the cost of materials,postage, and manual processing of the paper bills, inserts, andenvelopes.

[0005] Other significant logistical and business concerns detract fromthe paper-based billing option. The time delay associated with sendingbills and receiving payments via conventional mailing deprive companiesof the time value of money and therefore create additional transactionalcosts. This time delay is particularly troublesome to small billers andnon-recurrent billers who tend to rely more heavily on cash flow.

[0006] Paper-based billing can also deprive billers of an opportunity tobuild brand. Although many paper billers include various types ofmarketing inserts with their bills in an attempt to use the billingactivity as an additional opportunity to make favorable brandimpressions on the consumer, those materials cannot be targeted aseffectively as in an interactive session. For instance, billers do nothave significant realistic control over the circumstances under which,or whether, a consumer views particular inserts. Indeed, studies haveshown that many consumers disregard such inserts altogether.

[0007] The development of the Internet creates new opportunities totransact business electronically, including to conduct the billingpresentment and payment process electronically, in an on-line way orotherwise. Some refer to various aspects of the electronic billingprocess as electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP). Instead ofmailing paper bills, EBPP enables businesses to publish, distributeand/or present bills electronically on web pages. Instead of writingchecks and applying stamps, consumers have the opportunity to pay billsby an electronic credit card charge or direct bank draft. The billerbenefits by avoiding the cost of generating and mailing paper bills, andby avoiding the payment float occasioned by two-way mail delay and otherdelays in paper-based remittance. The consumer benefits with the addedconvenience of conducting transactions online, and the opportunity topay many or all bills on one site or in one virtual space.

[0008] In practice, however, there are significant concerns withconventional approaches to EBPP. For example, in one common approach toEBPP, which is often referred to as the custom development method,billers create a proprietary electronic billing system and link it to athird-party for payment processing. Because custom development is mostlyan internal EBPP solution, it gives billers the advantage of tightcontrol over the billing system. However, this type of solution is verycostly. Not only is it a technology risk because billers lose theflexibility to adapt to other EBPP standards, but it requires asubstantial amount of manpower and infrastructure. Furthermore, suchsystems innately discourage consumer use or popularity, since theconsumer is required to log onto and initiate a session on a separatesite for each different bill the consumer wishes to pay.

[0009] A second common EBPP approach, which is referred to as theconsolidator approach, presents its own set of problems. This method ofenabling EBPP trades control of the billing interface and brandingopportunity for a reduction in cost, risk, and internal staffing byoutsourcing the EBPP to a third party consolidator. Here, the electronicpayment processor takes on a lock box function of holding and movingcash during billing and payment. The payment processor performs anaggregation function by presenting multiple billers' statements at asingle, consolidating web site. Not only does interposition of theconsolidator and its interface between billers and consumers interruptany existing relationship, but it also precludes exploitation of newbiller opportunities to interact with consumers.

[0010] In addition to the problems already mentioned, existing EBPPenabling methods have various other disadvantages. For example, theyremain an expensive option for most billers who lack sufficienteconomies of scale necessary to overcome the high fixed cost ofimplementation. These EBPP methods, which primarily focus on reducingbiller costs, also often fail to address the issue of consumerconvenience adequately, much less to provide effective incentives forconsumer adoption.

[0011] Furthermore, conventional EBPP approaches, which seek toimplement EBPP on portal interfaces, often require redundant resourcessupported by multiple entities and consequently waste processing andtransport resources. For example, using existing EBPP methods, if aconsumer desires to pay AT&T bills electronically at a website such asYahoo.com, the following occurs. First, the consumer requests thatYahoo.com receive the AT&T bill and send it to the consumer. Then,assuming AT&T partners with an electronic payment facilitator such asCheckFree, Yahoo.com makes a request to CheckFree. Finally, CheckFreeinitiates the request to AT&T. Because each of these entities areindependent, each requires its own resident database and other supportfunctionality. Such conventional portal-supported EBPP approachesprovide significant opportunity for improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention provides fully integrated, end-to-endelectronic bill presentment and payment systems. Such systems supportintegrated EBPP access and functionality for billers, consumers, banks,other financial institutions, and other electronic payment facilitators,any or all of which can be transacted at a web portal, web site or otherinterface or virtual space (“Portal Interface”). Such systems cansupport such activities at multiple portals, so that consumers andothers have the choice of paying bills and accomplishing other EBPPtransactions in whatever virtual space or at whatever site they desire.The systems provide consumers, billers and others the ability toself-enable EBPP by interacting with the portal interface such as via aseries of web pages. Such systems of the present invention can controlall interactions between billers and consumers from the portalinterface. In addition, the systems can seamlessly orchestrate all othertransactions with payment facilitators and banks. Therefore, all EBPPfunctionality and processes can be controlled by systems and processesaccording to the present invention.

[0013] The Portal Interface controlled by systems of the presentinvention provides individual consumers with a secure personalizedelectronic bill portfolio where they can schedule, view, and pay theirelectronic bills. The Portal Interface controlled by such systems alsoenables billers to create consumer accounts and electronically publishtheir bills on a personalized electronic bill portfolio for viewing andpayment. The systems can provide all bill processing, paymentprocessing, consumer and biller data storage, and arrange all externalbilling transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing external connectivity of apreferred embodiment of integrated electronic bill presentment andpayment systems of the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the architecture of apreferred embodiment of integrated electronic bill presentment andpayment systems of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating general functionality of acustomer-related portal interface supported by a preferred embodiment ofintegrated electronic bill presentment and payment systems of thepresent invention.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating general functionality of abiller-related portal interface supported by a preferred embodiment ofintegrated electronic bill presentment and payment systems of thepresent invention.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a sign in screenface of a portal interface generated bya preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a help screenface of a portal interface generated by apreferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 7 is an inbox screenface of a portal interface generated by apreferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 8 is a bill summary list screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 9 is a company list screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 10 is an add a company screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 11 is a my outbox screenface of a portal interface generatedby a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 12 is a pay accounts screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 13 is a preferences screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0027]FIG. 14 is a change password screenface linked off the preferencesscreenface of a portal interface generated by a preferred embodiment ofsystems of the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 15 is a personal information screenface linked off thepreferences screenface of a portal interface generated by a preferredembodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 16 is payment reminder creation screenface linked off thepreferences screenface of a portal interface generated by a preferredembodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 17 is a generic create a reminder screenface linked off thepreferences screenface of a portal interface generated by a preferredembodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0031]FIG. 18 is a contact customer service screenface linked off thepreferences screenface of a portal interface generated by a preferredembodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 19 is a biller signup screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0033]FIG. 20 is a bill template design step 1 screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0034]FIG. 21 is a bill template design step 3 screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0035]FIG. 22 is a bill template design step 2 screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0036]FIG. 23 is an invoice creation step 1 screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0037]FIG. 24 is an invoice creation step 2 screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0038]FIG. 25 is an invoice preview screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0039]FIG. 26 is a report builder screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0040]FIG. 27 is a reports screenface of a portal interface generated bya preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0041]FIG. 28 is an upload bills screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0042]FIG. 29 is bill quality assurance screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0043]FIG. 30 is a second bill quality assurance screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0044]FIG. 31 is a third bill quality assurance screenface of a portalinterface generated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the presentinvention.

[0045]FIG. 32 is an add an account screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

[0046]FIG. 33 is a send customer e-mail screenface of a portal interfacegenerated by a preferred embodiment of systems of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047]FIG. 1 shows connectivity of a preferred embodiment 10 ofintegrated electronic bill presentment and payment systems (“systems”)of the present invention. System embodiment 10 interfaces with, amongother external entities, billers 12, which may include very small andnon-recurrent billers 14, banks and other financial institutions 16,payment facilitators 18, web portals and bill presenters 20, andconsumers 22. System embodiment 10 shown in FIG. 1 is implemented on aSun platform using an Oracle database with other programs that allowconnectivity via any desired network or transport infrastructure,preferably the Internet, to a portal interface in spaces 20 via anExtensible Markup Language or other standard markup or other common datainterchange model or language. Portal interfaces 15 may be implementedin Hypertext Markup Language or as otherwise desired to operate onbrowsers, whether or not applet enabled, or as otherwise desired.

[0048]FIG. 2 shows an architecture diagram for a preferred embodiment 10of systems according to the present invention. System embodiment 10supports a portal interface 15 which allows consumers 22 and billers 12and/or 14 the ability to self-enable EBPP by interacting with a seriesof web pages or other interfaces or presentations of whatever desireddesign or type on a web portal 20 or at any other location in actual,electronic or virtual space, supported by the global informationinfrastructure, successor systems, private systems or any othercommunications network or system. System embodiment 10 can enable allEBPP functionality via the portal interface 15. System embodiment 10 cancontrol all interactions or transactions between billers 12 and/or 14and consumers 22 using portal interface 15 as the communications and/orpresentation medium. System embodiment 10 can also arrange all othernecessary transactions with payment facilitators 18 and banks 16.

[0049] System embodiment 10 may be created to allow consumers 22 todefine whatever portal or any other location or space they desire toaccess system embodiment 10. This can be any web portal 20 or other billpresentment web site, such as Yahoo.com® or G02Net®. In order toinitialize a bill portfolio, consumers 22 can go to the selected webportal or other space 20. System embodiment 10 prompts consumers 22 forpersonal information sufficient for authentication. System embodiment 10can be adapted only to assign consumers 22 a secure bill portfolio whenconsumers 22 can be authenticated by a third party credit reportingagency. After being verified, a consumer bill portfolio may be accesscontrolled by any desirable schema or paradigm, including by using abill portfolio identification number, a unique consumer identificationnumber, and an encryption key defined by consumers 22. Consumers 22 mayalso define multiple accounts at the same bill portfolio.

[0050]FIG. 3 illustrates the general functionality of a preferredembodiment of a consumer portal interface supported by system embodiment10. System embodiment 10 provides consumers 22 a secure personalizedportfolio for viewing and paying electronic bills that are input intosystem embodiment 10 by various billers. System embodiment 10 directsall incoming electronic bills to the bill portfolio of consumers 22.Consumers 22 also have the option of notifying paper-based billers thatthey desire to have bills presented electronically. System embodiment 10can notify the billers and initiate electronic scanning of paper bills.Consumers 22 may access the portfolio at any location of choice usingany interface, such as, for instance, a conventional web browser, otheronline device, any wireless device, or any other device which maycommunicate with system embodiment 10 in any manner. Any such device isa candidate to support presentation of or transaction with portalinterface 15 by consumers 22. Consumers 22 can also define the format ofthe billing information. For example, the billing data may be suppliedto consumers 22 in a variety of standard accounting formats.

[0051] System embodiment 10 also enables consumers 22 to pay electronicbills via credit card, ACH, or electronic funds transfer or using anyother mode or medium of payment or reconciliation. System embodiment 10can also support payments between different consumer bill portfolios. Inaddition, system embodiment 10 can provide for various types ofcommunication between or among billers 12 and/or 14 and consumers 22 andbetween or among consumers 22.

[0052]FIG. 4 illustrates the general functionality of a preferredembodiment of a biller interface in accordance with the presentinvention with system embodiment 10. Billers 12 and/or 14 mayself-enable EBPP by accessing system embodiment 10. System embodiment 10can obtain information from billers 12 and/or 14 and authenticate by acredit verifier service if desired. After a biller is authenticated,system embodiment 10 enables billers 12 and/or 14 to define thepresentation of the bill, among other things. Billers 12 and/or 14 mayalso do such things as customize bill templates, upload logos,addresses, and define bill fields. System embodiment 10 may supportbillers 12 and/or 14 carrying out any desired or desirable task, such asspecifying marketing messages that are defined by consumer specificrules, set up consumers 22 to bill and/or set up specialized consumergroups based on predefined rules.

[0053] Billers 12 and/or 14 can also specify various other billgeneration criteria. The bill criteria can accommodate criteria such aswhether the bill is for a fixed amount or whether it is formula based.Billers can also specify the bill schedule.

[0054] Billers 12 and/or 14 may bill consumers 22 by inputting any billdata. System embodiment 10 enables billers 12 and/or 14 to predefine howthe electronic bill is to be displayed. System embodiment 10 alsomanages the routing of the bills. System embodiment 10 selects thebiller-defined delivery channel, which could be either paper orelectronic. If a bill portfolio exists, the bill is placed in it. If thebilled consumer 22 does not have a bill portfolio, electronic deliveriescan be sent via email along with a message notifying consumer 22 thatthe biller is using electronic billing. If neither exists, systemembodiment 10 can perform standard paper billing. System embodiment 10may also enable billers 12 and/or 14 to identify conventional mailingaddresses for consumers 22 so that consumers 22 may enable standardpaper billing. System embodiment 10 may also provide notification tobillers 12 and/or 14 when bills are rejected, bills are overdue, orpayments are received.

[0055] FIGS. 5-18 show web pages of a preferred embodiment of a consumerportal interface on a web portal 20 controlled by system embodiment 10.As mentioned above, the interface 15 can appear on any device in anylocation in actual, electronic or virtual space, using any network orcommunications system; use of the web and browser paradigm for thefollowing description is merely one example and should not beinterpreted to limit the invention or its scope in any way. That said,FIGS. 5 and 6 show web pages for the initial welcome screens for a webportal 20 of system embodiment 10. As any other web site or web portal20 on the Internet, the welcome screen and all linked web pages on webportal 20 are freely accessible to billers 12 and/or 14 and consumers 22using any standard web browsing software and computer. Consumers 22 mayalso access the web pages by using any device of whatever stripe, suchas a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone, or pager, whichsupports Internet access via wireless technology, standard telephonedial-up or network connections, or any communications system.

[0056] The welcome screen permits new billers 12 and/or 14 and consumers22 to create a new account. When setting up a new account, billers 12and/or 14 and consumers 22 are required to input personal informationthat can be used to identify and authenticate the user for subsequentsessions. After the user inputs the personal information, the system cancontact a credit verifier company, such as Equifax® or TRW®, and uses acredit report supplied by the company to automatically determine whetherthe user meets certain predetermined requirements, in which case a newaccount may be created.

[0057] After creating an account, the welcome screen permits newconsumers 22 to create a new personalized bill portfolio or additionalbill portfolios. Some sophisticated consumers 22 may desire to haveseparate bill portfolios within the same account for multiple homes,separate individuals within a home, or for a separate business. After abiller account is established, new billers 12 and/or 14 may access thebiller functionality, which is discussed below.

[0058] The welcome screen also permits billers 12 and/or 14 andconsumers 22 that have already registered to access system embodiment 10by inputting a user identification number, a personalized password, andan encryption key. These user specific identifiers ensure that onlyregistered users that have been authenticated are granted access topersonal information stored on system embodiment 10.

[0059] FIGS. 7-18 show a series of web pages for a personalized billportfolio management system that registered consumers 22 use to accessand interact with a bill portfolio via portal interface 15. FIG. 7 showsan incoming bill web page that enables consumers 22 to interact with allincoming electronic bills including electronic bills that have beenreceived but remain unpaid and paper bills that have been received andscheduled for electronic presentment. For each bill, the web pagedisplays the biller's name, the amount due, the date payment is due, andthe status of the bill. Consumers 22 may also select and view eachelectronic bill. FIG. 8 shows a web page displaying a sample billsummary and payment information. The incoming bill web page also permitsconsumers 22 to select and electronically pay particular bills.

[0060] System embodiment 10 enables consumers 22 to notify paper billersthat they desire to have bills presented electronically. Systemembodiment 10 can contact the paper-based biller and notify the billerthat their electronic bills may be presented to consumers via systemembodiment 10. If the biller declines, system embodiment 10 can arrangeto have the paper bill scanned into system embodiment 10 where it can beviewed and paid by consumers 22 using system embodiment 10. Paper billsthat have been received and are being processed for scanning andelectronic presentment are displayed on the incoming bill web page as“scheduled”. System embodiment 10 may also enable billers 12 and/or 14to identify conventional mailing addresses for consumers 22 so thatconsumers 22 may enable standard paper billing.

[0061]FIG. 9 shows a biller list web page that enables consumers 22 tolist the companies whose bills they desire to pay electronically. Foreach biller 12 and/or 14, the web page displays the company name, acorresponding identification number, and whether or not the company hasbeen scheduled for electronic bill presentment and payment. Consumers 22may also use the web page to modify the configuration for a biller 12and/or 14 or to delete a biller 12 and/or 14 from the list altogether.FIG. 10 shows a web page that enables consumers 22 to add additionalbillers 12 and/or 14 for electronic bill presentment and payment. Theweb page has a series of pull down menus enabling a consumer 22 todefine a biller configuration. One menu allows the consumer 22 to definea particular category for the biller 12 and/or 14. For example,consumers 22 may categorize billers 12 and/or 14 as a utility biller,telecommunications service biller, credit card biller, professionalservices biller, or any other category of relevance to the consumer.Another menu allows the consumer 22 to select a bill delivery methodsuch as CheckFree® or any other third party electronic paymentfacilitator 18. Other menus permit the consumer 22 to input the accountnumber for the biller 12 and/or 14, as well as an expiration date.Consumers 22 may also elect to enable functionality permitting arecurring payment schedule.

[0062]FIG. 11 shows an outgoing bill web page that enables consumers 22to interact with electronic bills that have already been paid. Similarto the incoming bill web page, the outgoing bill web page displays thebiller's name, the amount due, the date payment is due, and whether ornot the bill has been paid. Consumers 22 may also select and view a billsummary and payment information screen for a particular bill. Finally,consumers 22 may select and delete bills that have already been paid.

[0063]FIG. 12 shows a payment accounts web page that enables a consumer22 to view, add, modify, and delete credit card or debit card accountsthat the consumer 22 desires to use for electronic payment of bills. Foreach payment account the consumer 22 is required to input an accounttype, an account number, an account name, expiration date, and the nameappearing on the card.

[0064]FIG. 13 shows a consumer preferences web page that enables theconsumer 22 to personalize a bill portfolio. FIGS. 14 and 15 show webpages that enable consumers 22 to view and modify personal informationassociated with a bill portfolio and a personalized password foraccessing a bill portfolio. The web page also enables consumers 22 toinitialize email notification of when bills are presented to a billportfolio for payment. Consumers 22 may also create generic reminders orbill payment reminders, which may be sent directly to an email address.

[0065]FIGS. 16 and 17 show web pages for creating and scheduling genericreminders and payment reminders. The web pages enable consumers 22 tospecify when the reminder will begin to be sent, how often the reminderwill be sent, at what time the reminder will be sent, and when to stopsending the reminder. For generic reminders, the consumer 22 can berequired to specify recipients of the reminder and the content of themessage.

[0066] At any time while logged into system embodiment 10 and accessinga bill portfolio, consumers 22 may contact consumer service by using aconsumer service web page as shown in FIG. 18. The consumer service webpage also lists a variety of contact information, as well as links toanswers to frequently asked questions.

[0067] The pages described above and shown in FIGS. 5-18 are merelyexemplary. In a first sense, each or any of them may contain additionalfields, or may contain fewer fields, to solicit or require informationof any type or sort, or to allow consumers 22 to interact with systemembodiment 10 in any way for the purpose or result of bill payment orreconciliation. In a second sense, other pages may be employed for suchresults or purposes, or any of the above-mentioned pages may be omitted.Again, these pages are merely one example of an embodiment of a portalinterface that can support system embodiment 10 on any platform ordevice anywhere in actual, electronic or virtual space.

[0068] FIGS. 19-33 show a series of web pages that billers 12 and/or 14may use to self-enable EBPP. (As mentioned above, the interface 15 canappear on any device in any location in actual, electronic or virtualspace, using any network or communications system; use of the web andbrowser paradigm for the following description is merely one example andshould not be interpreted to limit the invention or its scope in anyway.) Any type of biller 12 and/or 14 may use system embodiment 10 toself-enable EBPP, but it is particularly advantageous to billers 14 witha relatively small number of consumers, as well as billers 14 withnon-recurring consumers. FIG. 19 shows a registration web page forsigning up to use system embodiment 10 for EBPP. Billers 12 and/or 14can enter a series of information text boxes on the web page, whichinclude a merchant identification number. System embodiment 10 can thencontact a credit verifier and access a credit report supplied by thecredit verifier to automatically determine whether the biller 12 and/or14 is authenticated. If the biller 12 and/or 14 is authenticated, systemembodiment 10 automatically notifies the biller 12 and/or 14 and accessto system embodiment 10 is granted.

[0069] As described above, once registered and authenticated billers 12and/or 14 may access system embodiment 10 by inputting a useridentification number, a personalized password, and an encryption key.FIGS. 20-22 show web pages that enable billers 12 and/or 14 to definethe layout of an electronic bill. FIG. 20 shows a web page for choosinga predefined template provided by system embodiment 10. FIG. 21 shows aweb page that enables billers 12 and/or 14 to interactively design theirown bill template. Once the layout of the bill is defined, billers 12and/or 14 can specify what type of software program they will use toprovide consumer billing data to system embodiment 10. In the preferredembodiment of the invention, system embodiment 10 supports billing dataof any type, such as, for example, data formatted to comply with overthe counter software accounting packages such as QuickBooks® andPeachtree®, or billing data formatted as a printer datastream or adatabase export. FIG. 22 shows a web page for billers 12 and/or 14 toselect the appropriate billing data format.

[0070] In situations where creating a bill template is not manageable,as for one time transactions with a consumer 22, system embodiment 10can enable billers 12 and/or 14 to send a one time only invoice. FIGS.23-25 show web pages that enable this functionality. Billers 12 and/or14 can be required to include the biller's name, the amount due, adescription of the goods or services, the recipient of the invoice, thenumber of the bill portfolio where the invoice is to be sent, and thedate payment is due. After inputting the required invoice information,system embodiment 10 preferably permits the biller 12 and/or 14 topreview the invoice as it will appear in the consumer's bill portfolioand send it.

[0071] System embodiment 10 can also enable billers 12 and/or 14 tocreate various reports. Billers 12 and/or 14 may create reports showingany of a number of transactional statistics, such as the number of billspaid, the number of bills sent, the number of bills disputed, the numberof bills partially paid, the number of bills published, the number ofbills not published, and/or the number of bills that have been reviewedfor quality assurance. FIGS. 26 and 27 show web pages enabling billers12 and/or 14 to create and schedule reports.

[0072] System embodiment 10 can also enable billers 12 and/or 14 toupload bills from a consumer's bill portfolio. FIG. 28 shows a web pagethat enables billers 12 and/or 14 to do this. Billers 12 and/or 14 maysearch for a particular consumer 22 by name or may sort for a number ofconsumers 22 in a predefined group. System embodiment 10 performs therequested query and then displays each of the bills in the consumer'sbill portfolio that are associated with the biller. Billers 12 and/ormay also select and preview a particular bill. FIG. 29 shows a web pagefor previewing the bill of consumers 22. From the preview screen,billers 12 and/or 14 may edit the bill, send the bill, or defer sendingthe bill until later. FIG. 30 shows a web page that enables a biller 12and/or 14 to edit a consumer's bill.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 31, system embodiment 10 can also enable billers12 and/or 14 to add, modify, or delete consumer accounts. Billers 12and/or 14 may add a consumer account or choose the account organizer byselecting the appropriate link on the web page. FIG. 32 shows the linkedweb page where a biller 12 and/or 14 may input a new client's name,account number, email address, and attribute. System embodiment 10 mayalso enable billers 12 and/or 14 to identify conventional mailingaddresses for consumers 22 so that consumers 22 may enable standardpaper billing. The attribute field can be used in combination with theaccount organizer to define groups of consumer accounts to simplify billgeneration and delivery. Billers 12 and/or 14 may use consumer groups todefine and generate bills without the need for repetition. For example,when creating a list of consumer accounts, a biller 12 and/or 14 mayassign a specific zip code attribute to a group of accounts, which wouldenable the biller 12 and/or 14 to generate and deliver all bills of thespecific zip code at the same time.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 33, at any time while logged into systemembodiment 10 billers 12 and/or 14 may send emails to a consumer's billportfolio. Billers 12 and/or 14 can use this functionality for paymentreminders, marketing notices and offers, or any other advantageous use.

[0075] The pages described above and shown in FIGS. 19-33 are merelyexemplary. In a first sense, each or any of them may contain additionalfields, or may contain fewer fields, to solicit or require informationof any type or sort, or to allow billers 12 and/or 14 to interact withsystem embodiment 10 in any way for the purpose or result of billpresentment or to effectuate payment or reconciliation. In a secondsense, other pages may be employed for such results or purposes, or anyof the above-mentioned pages may be omitted. Again, these pages aremerely one example of an embodiment of a portal interface that cansupport system embodiment 10 on any platform or device anywhere inactual, electronic or virtual space.

[0076] The foregoing is provided for purposes of disclosure of apreferred embodiment of the present invention. Additions to, deletionsor omissions from, or changes to interfaces, systems, or embodimentsdisclosed above may be accomplished; so long as they help carry out theresults or purposes of providing systems that support interfaces toeffectuate EBPP, they remain within the scope or spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic bill presentment and paymentsystem, said system comprising: a database for storing data relating toa plurality of bills sourced from a plurality of billers, andcorresponding to a plurality of consumers; a conversion processingcommunicating with said database for converting data from said pluralityof billers into a format compatible with said database; a billerinterface communicating with said database for allowing at least some ofsaid plurality of billers to review and obtain reports in real time fromdata relating to said billers and status of said biller's bills storedin said database; a processing capacity communicating with said databasefor supporting a plurality of visual interfaces, each of said visualinterfaces allowing a consumer to review and pay said consumer's bills;a consumer interface communicating with said database for allowing saidconsumer to change information in said database; and an authenticationcapacity communicating with said database for determining whether saidconsumer meets certain predetermined requirements before a new accountis authorized to access said database.
 2. A system as defined in claim1, wherein said authentication capacity includes an input capacity forallowing said consumer to input personal information that can be used toidentify and authenticate said consumer.
 3. A system as defined in claim1, wherein said authentication capacity includes a credit verifier fordetermining whether said consumer has been authorized to access saiddatabase, said credit verifier providing consumer credit information tosaid authentication capacity.
 4. A system as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid credit verifier is a third party credit reporting agency.
 5. Asystem as defined in claim 4, wherein said consumer is authorized accessto said database by said credit verifier during a particular consumersession on a visual interface, only after an interactive session betweensaid system and said credit verifier during said consumer session.
 6. Asystem as defined in claim 1, further comprising: a billerauthentication capacity communicating with said database forauthenticating each of said plurality of billers.
 7. A system as definedin claim 1, further comprising: processing capacity capable ofcommunicating with a plurality of financial institutions to couple saidfinancial institutions to said database to facilitate payment of bills.8. A system as defined in claim 1, further comprising: processingcapacity capable of communicating with a plurality of paymentfacilitators to couple said payment facilitators to said database tofacilitate payment of bills.
 9. A method for electronic billingpresentment and payment, said method comprising the steps of: storingdata relating to a plurality of bills sourced from a plurality ofbillers, and corresponding to a plurality of consumers in a database;converting data from said plurality of billers into a format compatiblewith said database; allowing at least some of said plurality of billersto review and obtain reports in real time from data relating to saidbillers and status of said biller's bills stored in said database;supporting a plurality of visual interfaces, each of said visualinterfaces allowing a consumer to review and pay said consumer's bills;determining whether said consumer meets certain predeterminedrequirements before a new account is authorized to access said database;communicating with said database for allowing said consumer to changeinformation in said database; and allowing said consumer to pay billsfrom one of said visual interfaces.
 10. A method as defined in claim 9,wherein said step of allowing a consumer to pay bills further comprisesthe steps of: receiving from said consumer logon information; initiatingan interactive session with a credit verifier to obtain authorizationfor said consumer to have access to information from said database, saidcredit verifier providing consumer credit information to saidauthentication capacity; and after said authorization from said creditverifier has been received from said credit verifier, allowing saidconsumer to access information in said database in order to pay bills.11. A method as defined in claim 10, wherein said credit verifier is athird party credit reporting agency.
 12. A method as defined in claim10, wherein said consumer is authorized access to said database by saidcredit verifier during a particular consumer session on a visualinterface, only after an interactive session between said database andsaid credit verifier during said consumer session.
 13. A method asdefined in claim 9, further comprising the step of: allowing saidconsumer to input personal information that can be used to identify andauthenticate said consumer.
 14. A method as defined in claim 9, furthercomprising the step of: communicating with said database forauthenticating each of said plurality of billers.
 15. A method asdefined in claim 9, further comprising the step of: allowing saidconsumer to inquire online about status of at least one bill, saidinquiry being conveyed to particular billers.
 16. A method as defined inclaim 9, further comprising the step of: automatically notifying abiller when a consumer has paid a bill.
 17. A method as defined in claim9, further comprising the step of: allowing a biller to modify, online,the format in which a bill is presented to said consumer on said visualinterface.
 18. A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising thestep of: allowing said consumer to modify, online, the format in which abill is presented to said consumer on said visual interface.
 19. Amethod as defined in claim 9, further comprising the step of: allowingsaid consumer to pay bills from a plurality of visual interfaces,wherein each of said visual interfaces resides on a different InternetWebsite.
 20. A method for electronic billing presentment and payment,said method comprising the steps of: storing data relating to aplurality of bills sourced from a plurality of billers, andcorresponding to a plurality of consumers in a database; communicatingwith said database for authenticating each of said plurality of billers;converting data from said plurality of billers into a format compatiblewith said database; allowing at least some of said plurality of billersto review and obtain reports in substantially real time from datarelating to said billers and status of said biller's bills stored insaid database; supporting a plurality of visual interfaces, each of saidvisual interfaces allowing a consumer to review and pay said consumer'sbills; determining whether said consumer meets certain predeterminedrequirements before a new account is authorized to access said database,said determining step including obtaining consumer credit information;allowing said consumer to input personal information that can be used toidentify and authenticate said consumer wherein said input informationis compared to said consumer credit information; communicating with saiddatabase for allowing said consumer to change information in saiddatabase; and allowing said consumer to pay bills from one of saidvisual interfaces.